In addition, freshman wing Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas) made his first collegiate start and scored the first bucket of the game as he set up his own fast break after stealing Marshall's initial pass.

The Herd's Ajdin Penava quickly responded with a layup to tie the game, scoring his first two points of a double-double that included 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Zips only held one more lead, 6-5, after junior wing Jimond Ivey(Cleveland, Ohio) cashed in with a midrange jumper at 16:44 in the first half.

Marshall's leading scorer, Jon Elmore, scored five of The Herd's initial seven points and finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting with three triples and a 5-of-5 effort from the charity stripe.

C.J. Burks also poured in 20 points, as his 3-pointer at the 12:22 mark sparked a 13-0 run, establishing a 24-10 advantage for the home team. Duvivier stopped The Herd's run with a long strike from deep, but another 7-0 run extended Marshall's lead to 20 points, 39-19, with 3:39 remaining in the first half.

The Zips cut the deficit to 13 points several times, but a big play from one of Marshall's 20-point scorers tended to follow. Marshall extended the lead to as many as 23 points, 83-60, before Ivey recorded the Zips' final four points. The game ended with Elmore connecting with his third triple of the night with 1:18 remaining in the game. Ivey finished with nine points and six rebounds.

The Zips will be back in action at James A. Rhodes Arena for a three-game homestand before departing for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Akron opens the homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 6 against Fort Wayne at 7 p.m., followed by back-to-back 2 p.m. Saturday contests against Appalachian State (Dec. 9) and Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 16).